A nonagenarian's vehicle to expound at nonspecific intervals on his opinions regarding politics-local to international, health care, life,society,and perhaps religion plus periodic vignettes about Plainfield N.J.
In addition to "blowing off",I am enjoying a second career as an amateur public advocate.

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Democrats
are boycotting the Finance Committee, denying Republicans a quorum to
approve confirmation of Rep. Tom Price, President Trump's nominee for
secretary of health and human services. They also further delayed a
committee vote on President Trump's pick to lead the Treasury, Steve
Mnuchin, effectively stalling the confirmation process and calling their
move a protest against two ethically comprised nominees. (Washington Post 11:14 am)

Shades of Richard Nixon and the Saturday Night Massacre (*). Donald Trump now has his “Monday Night Massacre” by firing Acting Attorney General Sally Q. Yates and Daniel Ragsdale the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Monday night.

Yates was fired because she instructed the Department of Justice not to defend v ae arising out of the Executive order banning Muslims from entry to the United States because she questioned the legality of the order.

“Mr. Trump said after she refused to defend his immigration executive order that Ms. Yates had “betrayed” the administration, (NY Times)...

No reason was given why Ragsdale was replaced.

Yates was replaced as Acting AG by “Dana Boente, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Boente who later Monday, formally rescinded Yates’s order and ordered Justice Department employees “to do our sworn duty and to defend the lawful orders of our President.” Had said he would enforce the president’s directive until he was replaced by Trump’s attorney general nominee, Sen. Jeff Sessions”.

Sessions himself is having his Senate committee vote session this am. Despite his baggage he is expected to be confirmed although some Republican Senators are having sincere second thoughts.

In my lifetime and I am approaching 100, I had only considered Nixon to be the one real threat to our American civil liberties and our Constitution. Fortunately Congress did its duty and Nixon under the threat of impeachment was forced to resign.

We seem to be facing a similar crisis today where the President believes that he is above the Constitutional law and can act as he wishes.

He has elevated the Nazi admirer Stephen Kevin "Steve" Bannon his Chief Strategist and Senior Counselor to United States to a “full seat on the “principals committee” of the National Security Council — while downgrading the roles of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the director of national intelligence, who will now attend only when the council is considering issues in their direct areas of responsibilities” (NY Times).

One of the principle authors of this apparently not well thought out infamous anti-Muslim order Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani stated Saturday that he was commissioned by Trump to prepare a “legal” order.

Giuliani is a known disciple of autocratic rule and a confident of Trump’

Monday, January 30, 2017

In less than 10 days Trump has issued a slew of Executive Orders among which there was one re-establishing consideration of the Keystone and North Dakota pipelines.

Another requires the Dept. of Defense to formulate within 30 days a plan to defeat ISIS. There was also a vague one aimed at Obama care that has not only the public concerned but also the insurance carriers as well as the “providers” and various state governments.

The most controversial one came this weekend:” President Trump’s executive order on immigration indefinitely barred Syrian refugees from entering the United States, suspended all refugee admissions for 120 days and blocked citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, refugees or otherwise, from entering the United States for 90 days: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

A
new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 57% of
Likely U.S. Voters favor a temporary ban on refugees from Syria, Iraq, Iran,
Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen until the federal government approves its
ability to screen out potential terrorists form coming here. Thirty-three
percent (33%) are opposed, while 10% are undecided.

This edict however immediately created chaos with those in transit being held at airports on landing; others overseas prevented from boarding flights including those with valid visas and even those with green cards returning to the States.

Immigrants who have obtained their “Green Card” have all the constitutional and legal rights of an American citizen, yet they were being arbitrarily detained.

Caught in the mess was the complete rejection of decent human morality. For example Ibtisam Mahmoo Hussein age 64 who lives with her husband a retired diplomat in Oman but has an Iraqi passport was on the way to see her critically ill 91 year old mother who has lived here since 1991. Members of her family have been here since 1972 and are US citizens and Ms. Hussein had received an approved visa.

There were two brothers with immigrant visas from Yemen ages 21 and 19 who arrived at Dulles on Sunday to join their father an American citizen. But instead were put on a plane headed back to Africa. They were told to sign some paper or they would be barred for 5 years from this country. No one knows what was in the paper, could it be a waiving of their visa? (NY Times 1/830/17).

How about the mother with a 2 and 5 year old daughters turned back at the airport when coming to the USA to join her husband who is now a citizen?

The administration may have backed down on Green Card holders although Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, on Meet the Press vacillated about green card holders saying that they “would go forward?’, whatever that means, but local immigration agents had the right to detain and ask more questions.

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Friday, January 27, 2017

Mexico will pay for the wall!! A 20% tax on imports is Trumps answer. Forgotten is that the consumer is the one who really pays the additional cost. Forgotten is the fact (not alternative) that “protective tariffs” not only prolonged the great depression instead of protecting American jobs. Forgotten is the fact that as far as cars produced in Mexico some 40% of their parts are produce in the USA. What will happen to the manufacturing companies?

“The conservative Wall Street Journal editorial page criticizes Trump's recent moves against Mexico, saying that they will only embolden Mexico's more leftist (and Anti-American) political forces. “Some six million U.S. jobs depend on trade with Mexico. But the much larger risk is that Mexicans will sour on progress toward joining their North American neighbors as prosperous free-market democracies. This is the moment that Mexico's left—dormant but not dead—has been waiting for as anti-American” (NBC's Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Carrie Dann: NBC News)

“Alternative facts” after the Mexican President cancelled next week’s (Jan. 31st) visit to Trump, our exalted leader tweeted that “it was by mutual consent. But according to USA Today” “So then Trump tweeted Thursday morning: "If Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting." So Peña Nieto did.” Your interpretation. Enough of Trumpania: there is a Council Agenda Fixing Session in the City Hall Library Monday. With or without malice of forethought this is a move to keep public attendance down. Political nonsense is not limited to the Federal Government

About Me

Over aged, Trying to be "the last angry man".about any and all improprieties of stated interest.For some unknown reason has been listed for years in various editions of "Who's Who"(America, World, Science)
I deny any responsibility for typos, spelling and poor punctuation. Hunt and peck has it faults. Speech transcribing does not seem to be the answer.
Enjoying a second career as a self appointed advocate for the public vz local government excesses.